Flu-fighting staffers at Beth Israel get down to this. sick. beat.

H/t Nick McNulty.

Since December, four emergency-room doctors at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have been experimenting with Google Glass - colored bright orange so patients would immediately know the glass would see them now.

Dr. John Halamka, hospital CIO, describes the pilot project and lessons learned - and recounts Dr. Steven Horng on one particular incident:

Firefighters in hazmat uniforms are at 330 Brookline Ave., investigating a potential basement leak of ethylene oxide, used for sterilization. A crew went in around noon and found no readings for the stuff.

Dr. John Halamka at Beth Israel reports on his wife's diagnosis and plans - with her consent - to blog about her treatment:

Last Thursday, my wife Kathy was diagnosed with poorly differentiated breast cancer. She is not facing this alone. We're approaching this as a team, as if together we have cancer. She has been my best friend for 30 years. I will do whatever it takes to ensure we have another 30 years together.

The Globe reports on Paul Levy's $1.6-million severance from Beth Israel Deaconess.

Physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have agreed to a new payment system with Blue Cross Blue Shield, in which they get paid a "global" amount based on their average number of patients, rather than per procedure - with bonuses for meeting certain quality and patient-satisfaction goals. Beth Israel CEO Paul Levy considers the effect on the medical center:

Last week, Paul Levy, CEO at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, cited some work by the staff at Brigham and Women's Hospital to reduce the number of falls patients take in the hospital. Today, he notes his own staff have taken a different approach to the problem. And then he looks at a map of where the two hospitals are and wonders:

Jonathan Potts reports that Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is finding it a lot easier to build up its patient count through fluffy features in the local media now that local newsrooms have mostly gotten rid of dedicated health reporters.

No, not the "bags fly free" part, at least, not directly. Paul Levy, CEO at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, writes hospital staff he was struck by the differences in the way Southwest and American Airlines handle luggage - and the passengers who own it - and began to wonder if Southwest had the right idea by giving passengers more of a say in the way they fly:

Look for Levy interviews in local media through next week as he goes public and says he won't resign as CEO at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He links to three interviews so far; the Herald has the most details on the woman in question and her role at Beth Israel (more specifically, its Needham hospital).